


An Attitude Like That

by GreenReticule



Series: Hermit Crab, Hermit Cockroach - A Maul Lives AU [1]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Even the longest journey to the Light needs to start somewhere, Gen, Twin Suns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 16:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10442196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenReticule/pseuds/GreenReticule
Summary: Not even Anakin was this much trouble. ("Twin Suns"/Rebels spoilers in notes)





	

There weren’t many times that Tatooine’s temperature was tolerable, but dusk always brought with it a cool breeze. Ben leaned against the entrance to his hut, enjoying the air’s flow. His hand cupped a small mug of a pleasant beverage that he’d been nursing for a few hours.

He took a sip, enjoying the peace and the gentle sounds of the desert settling. A small lizard scurried past the door, pausing for a moment, tasting the air.

An enraged howl sent it bolting on its way.

Ben took another sip as he watched the lizard go. Incredible how quickly such small legs could propel a creature.

Something crashed and clattered against a wall, the noise originating from the vicinity of the howl.

“You’ll get nowhere with an attitude like that,” Ben called out, taking another sip.

Behind him, wild-eyed and teeth-clenching, Maul stalked out of one of the huts room, gesturing at Ben with an unlit lightsaber.

“It’s a wonder your apprentice got  _ anywhere _ with  _ advice  _ like that.”

At this, Ben turned to face his guest, one eyebrow arched, “Did you even try to take my advice?”

“Did I even  _ try _ ?” His voice curled upwards in incredulity. Maul stomped towards the old Jedi, thrusting his face so close to Ben’s that their noses almost touched.

Ben didn’t flinch, “I asked you first.”

A guttural snarl was the response as Maul spun away from Ben to stomp about the hut in a petulant, sarcastic rage.

“Oh no, I  _ didn’t  _ try,  _ M _ as _ ter _ Kenobi. I was sitting in that room since  _ noon  _ merely  _ plotting _ how to kill you.”

Another sip. “Well, that does seem plausible. Any new ideas?”

Another snarl. Maul dropped onto one of the seats, flippantly tossing his lightsaber onto a table, and held his forehead in his hands.

Ben relented. Straightening, he moved to join Maul in the room, setting his mug next to the discarded weapon. Taking a seat adjacent to the ex-Sith, Ben said, “You know, what you’re attempting isn’t easy. Even Jedi Padawans had-”

“I am  _ beyond _ any  _ Padawan _ , Kenobi.”

Ben bit back a quip about their first battle, “In certain things, yes. But not in finding peace.”

“Peace is a lie.”

“You’ll get nowhere with an attitude like that either.”

It was astounding how many variations of snarls Maul was capable of. Ben let silence fall between them for a moment, let Maul simmer, his head still in his palms.

“If peace is a lie, then what are you doing here?”

Maul’s fingers curled against his skull but he made no answer.

“Even Jedi have difficulty hearing the crystals sing,” Ben began again, “and we’ve trained ourselves to listen. And listening is how we find them in the first place; our lightsabers are made out of the ones that were meant for us. The Jedi join in partnership with the crystals; the Sith bend them to their will.”

He paused, expecting some defense from Maul. None came.

“You’re attempting to hear a song that may have never been meant for you in the first place. There is no shame in beginning with failure.”

Maul took a breath, stood, snatched his lightsaber from the table, and jabbed a finger at Ben, “I don’t need your pity. And I do. Not. Fail.”

Ben watched him stalk out of the room, caught a glimpse of him rigidly kneeling in the other room. All the bluster aside, he noticed that his guest had carried his shoulders a little lighter. He wondered what Maul’s sabers would look like when they weren’t being bled out, and felt a brush of amusement from Qui-Gon’s presence.

Leaning back, Ben pulled at his beard in thought, unsure if he was offended or amused as well at the possibility of green.

**Author's Note:**

> This was partly inspired by the revelation in the novel Ahsoka that lightsabers are only red when the crystals are corrupted, and their nature can be "restored" by a user.  
> Mostly though, this was a "What If" inspired by the final encounter between Maul and Obi-Wan in Rebels, which gave me many, many emotions. What if Maul actually took Obi-Wan up on those offers of reconciliation before he lay dying?


End file.
